Exemplary embodiments of the invention generally relate to rotary wing aircrafts, and more particularly, to a plate for an open rotor hub of a counter-rotating rotary wing aircraft.
A helicopter rotor hub is the primary structural assembly for driving torque to each rotor blade, balancing centrifugal loads between opposing rotor blades, and transferring lift loads to the aircraft fuselage. In a counter-rotating rotary wing aircraft, controls and components, such as pitch control rods for example, are arranged within the hollow interior of the upper rotor shaft. When a conventional rotor hub is used in the counter-rotating rotary wing aircraft, a large opening is generally machined into the hub to provide access and/or visual inspection of the components within the upper rotor shaft.